Passenger forced to pay airline bag fee twice

Allegiant Air initially denied refund request but finally paid.

Airline baggage fees still might not be popular, but fliers have been forced to accept them as an added cost of their flight.

I bet most of us, though, wouldn't be onboard with having to pay two fees for the same bag, as Allegiant Air charged John Boyle during a recent trip.

Boyle, of Lower Macungie Township, was told this week he would get a refund. Until the Watchdog got involved, Allegiant had left him holding the bag.

Boyle was hit with the double fee when he and his wife flew to Florida in February from Lehigh Valley International Airport. Boyle said they did their best to minimize their costs by prepaying the baggage fees online to get the discount Allegiant Air offers.

They prepaid for two checked bags and one carry-on bag.

When they checked in at the ticket counter, Boyle said an Allegiant worker told him his carry-on bag was too large and he'd have to check it, which would cost $70. He disagreed that it was too large.

"It has always fit in the overhead bin other than on very small commuters," Boyle told me, noting that he saw several other passengers on the flight who were allowed to take the exact same American Tourister bag aboard.

"They all easily fit into the overhead storage and in fact, after all passengers were on and carry-ons stored, the bins were about 20% empty," Boyle told me in an email.

But Boyle had to check his. He told me Allegiant workers tested his bag to see if it met the carry-on size limits by putting it in a "sizer." He said the bag fit but a strap protruded about a half-inch. He said one worker approved the bag but was overruled by another.

Since he already had paid a $26 carry-on fee, Boyle asked Allegiant staff for a refund. He said an agent told him he could not do that, though staff had no trouble charging his card for the $70 fee to check the bag.

Boyle told me he tried calling Allegiant after returning from the trip, but he couldn't get through. He emailed the airline and when he didn't hear back within a few days, he contacted the Watchdog.

I spoke with Jessica Wheeler, public relations manager for Allegiant, on March 29. She told me check-in agents cannot issue refunds, but Boyle would get his money back through customer service.

"In these situations we do refund the initial carry-on fee," Wheeler told me.

She said he'd have to be patient, though, as it takes six to eight weeks to process requests.

I relayed that message to Boyle, who emailed his complaint to Allegiant again a few days later.

Allegiant finally responded to Boyle last week, about three months after he'd first emailed the airline. He didn't get the answer Wheeler told me he'd get.

He was told that all baggage fees are nonrefundable unless a bag is lost.

"I can't say that I am surprised," Boyle told me in an email.

He said he followed up by phone and was rejected again.

I spoke with Wheeler again on Monday and told her Boyle's claim had been denied. Within a few hours, Allegiant reversed the decision and Wheeler told me Boyle would be refunded the $26 carry-on fee.

"The agent who reviewed this claim was mistaken," Wheeler told me in an email. "We apologize for the confusion."

Boyle told me he doesn't see what was so confusing. He said the more his claim languished, the more it became a "moral crusade" than a quest to get his cash back.

Since I wasn't at the airport when Boyle checked in, I can't offer an opinion on whether his bag was appropriate to carry on. That's a judgment call by airline workers. But it's not hard to pass judgment on how Allegiant handled his request for a refund — poorly.

When you're packing for a flight, make sure you know your airline's luggage rules.

Wheeler told me customers can check Allegiant's website (http://faq.allegiantair.com/ under "baggage"). She said there are sizers to check carry-on bags at ticket counters and boarding gates.

"Customers should not assume their bag is the correct size simply because they have used it before," Wheeler told me. "Careful measurement and adherence to published guidelines prior to arrival at the airport can help avoid additional charges and expedite check-in. Any disagreement between a customer and an agent regarding baggage size will ultimately be settled by the baggage sizers."

If you have a disagreement with an airline, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation at http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer or 202-366-2220.

The Watchdog is published Thursdays and Sundays. Contact me by email at watchdog@mcall.com, by phone at 610-841-2364 (ADOG), by fax at 610-820-6693, or by mail at The Morning Call, 101 N. Sixth St., Allentown, PA, 18101. Follow me on Twitter at mcwatchdog and on Facebook at Morning Call Watchdog.